Fuel economy - anyone beating the official figures?
Discussion
My father reckons that overall he's 4mpg up on the manufacturers claimed mpg in his Skoda Octavia, no mean feat given that most of us struggle to get within 20% of the 'official' figures.
He's a real 'neutral downhill' and 'into 6th before he's out of the driveway' type so it's possible.
Anyone else manage this?
He's a real 'neutral downhill' and 'into 6th before he's out of the driveway' type so it's possible.
Anyone else manage this?
wiliferus said:
Volvo V70 D5 163 manual... I can't be arsed to check the figures, but if I go by the OBC I beat the claimed combined figure day in day out.
Brim to brim however reveals I'm about 10% below...
The OBC on my V70 T5 said I could get mid to high 30s on a long run if I was gentle. I believe it went on to seek a career in politics once we parted company.Brim to brim however reveals I'm about 10% below...
2015 Mercedes C 220d that I think has an official 70 ish combined
Drove Gloucestershire to Milton Keynes and then to Folkestone today. Certainly not economy driving, just going with flow and mostly 80 ish on M1/25/20.
OBC claimed 65mpg and its normally fairly accurate
So not exceeding the official but certainly
OK for 80ish.
I am amazed at this car. It averages similar mpg to my wife's Seat Ibiza Ecomotion (same as Polo Blue motion)
PS-average over last 20k is 60mpg
Drove Gloucestershire to Milton Keynes and then to Folkestone today. Certainly not economy driving, just going with flow and mostly 80 ish on M1/25/20.
OBC claimed 65mpg and its normally fairly accurate
So not exceeding the official but certainly
OK for 80ish.
I am amazed at this car. It averages similar mpg to my wife's Seat Ibiza Ecomotion (same as Polo Blue motion)
PS-average over last 20k is 60mpg
Used to be able to beat my Shogun's paper MPG. It was a '00 mk3 SWB with the old 2.5td. On paper it should achieve 28mpg, I could get a solid 30 out of mine, ~32 on a long run. Even managed up to 35 on a properly good run (whole tank spent at 60mph on the motorway)That is from calculating the average based on a tank of fuel, didn't have anything as fancy as an inaccurate trip computer on that old rig.
It wasn't as if I was pussy footing them about either, the old brute had a total 114bhp when it left the factory, and was the best part of 2 ton, 160k miles and 15 years later no doubt had some effect on that figure. So you had no option other than drive it flat out to get up to road speed. Although I did keep it at 56-60mph on dual carriageways/motorways. It would do 80 but made some very interesting smells when you ran it at that pace for more than 20 minutes or so
.
It wasn't as if I was pussy footing them about either, the old brute had a total 114bhp when it left the factory, and was the best part of 2 ton, 160k miles and 15 years later no doubt had some effect on that figure. So you had no option other than drive it flat out to get up to road speed. Although I did keep it at 56-60mph on dual carriageways/motorways. It would do 80 but made some very interesting smells when you ran it at that pace for more than 20 minutes or so
. 2010 seat ibiza 1.4 ecomotive, seat say the combined consumption is 76mpg the trip computer is giving me an average of 85ish it's miles out! I fill it to the brim and work it out on the miles last tank was 74mpg current one is going to better worst in the winter is 68mpg last summer managed 78mpg on one tank. Basically I drive like a nun it's a bad habit I've gotten into 
Strudul said:
Neutral coasting is actually worse for mpg. Better to stay in gear.
According to my average mpg readout I achieve significantly higher than the quoted figures.
Depends what you're doing I'd say. Certainly VW have a freewheel mode on some of their cars (likely DSG equipped only) as its better to glide a further distance using a little fuel than a shorter distance using no fuel. Though it is not clear in this case if it cuts the engine, it just says it disengages the clutch and re-engages when braking. It does mention rengaging to use the pumping of the engine to slow the car, so I guess the fuel isn't cut when coasting.According to my average mpg readout I achieve significantly higher than the quoted figures.
http://en.volkswagen.com/en/innovation-and-technol...
Certainly in an EV it can be better to free wheel as you'll cover more distance than the extra range you might generate travelling a shorter distance with regen and then having to use extra energy to meet the same distance. But it is different in an EV as there isn't an engine to keep idle.
When I changed jobs at the beginning of the year I doubled my commuting distance. Before this I was getting 32 mpg from my old Mondeo estate. The official figure is 36 for my petrol 1.8. The extra distance ment that I had a massive fuel bill for the first month that almost negated my pay rise.
I modified my driving style, gentle acceleration, anticipate stopping at junctions, use highest gear possible etc. I can now get about 42 mpg on a good day. Admittedly the route is hillier which means that you can lift off on the downhill sections. It is also cross country through small towns which drops the average speed. I find it is more economic than my old a dual carriage way flat route. It is harder work though and you have to be gentle/slow. If you get a day where there is lots of quick stuff behind you the mpg drops as dawdling along at 45 would be a bit anti social.
Anyway going slow for a bit means quick feels even quicker when you have a blat.
So, yes you can beat the official MPG, but it's not always possible, suitable or convenient.
I modified my driving style, gentle acceleration, anticipate stopping at junctions, use highest gear possible etc. I can now get about 42 mpg on a good day. Admittedly the route is hillier which means that you can lift off on the downhill sections. It is also cross country through small towns which drops the average speed. I find it is more economic than my old a dual carriage way flat route. It is harder work though and you have to be gentle/slow. If you get a day where there is lots of quick stuff behind you the mpg drops as dawdling along at 45 would be a bit anti social.
Anyway going slow for a bit means quick feels even quicker when you have a blat.
So, yes you can beat the official MPG, but it's not always possible, suitable or convenient.
Official combined for mine, E350 Estate, is 32mpg, I often get 35mpg plus from it, which is roughly 3mpg less than the E350d estate I had before got on the same run.
It has averaged 29.2mpg calculated over the last 21,000 miles since I kept track. Which for a 306hp 3.5 litre V6 petrol large estate I think is great. The E350d said 36mpg on the OBC but was just under 33 calculated.
It has averaged 29.2mpg calculated over the last 21,000 miles since I kept track. Which for a 306hp 3.5 litre V6 petrol large estate I think is great. The E350d said 36mpg on the OBC but was just under 33 calculated.
Otispunkmeyer said:
Strudul said:
Neutral coasting is actually worse for mpg. Better to stay in gear.
According to my average mpg readout I achieve significantly higher than the quoted figures.
Depends what you're doing I'd say. Certainly VW have a freewheel mode on some of their cars (likely DSG equipped only) as its better to glide a further distance using a little fuel than a shorter distance using no fuel. Though it is not clear in this case if it cuts the engine, it just says it disengages the clutch and re-engages when braking. It does mention rengaging to use the pumping of the engine to slow the car, so I guess the fuel isn't cut when coasting.According to my average mpg readout I achieve significantly higher than the quoted figures.
http://en.volkswagen.com/en/innovation-and-technol...
Certainly in an EV it can be better to free wheel as you'll cover more distance than the extra range you might generate travelling a shorter distance with regen and then having to use extra energy to meet the same distance. But it is different in an EV as there isn't an engine to keep idle.
Coasting you use a little fuel but all your kinetic energy can be put to use
The Lupo 3L had a coasting function back in 2000, some of the current VAG DSG's have the same function, in the US they do shut off the engine but not in Europe, many EV's have a coasting function too.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff